Even today, one of the few names associated with Socialism in America is Eugene Debs. Debs was an Indiana Congressman most famous for organizing labor unions. He is connected to one of the most famous strikes in American history; the Pullman Strike of 1894 which had to be broken up by the U.S. Army.
Debs continued to fight for labor unions and joined the American Socialist Party. He was an outspoken critic of World War I and Woodrow Wilson's administration. On June 30, 1918, he was arrested on 10 counts of sedition. Wilson called him, "a traitor to his country." Debs spoke on his own behalf at his criminal trial but was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Debs ran for President on the Socialist ticket in 1920 while incarcerated in an Atlanta prison. He received 913, 664 write in votes (3.4% of the vote). He later requested clemency which Wilson, of course, rejected. In 1921, new President Warren Harding released Debs and invited him to the White House the day after his release. Harding welcomed Debs saying, "Well, I have heard so damned much about you, Mr. Debs, that I am glad to meet you personally."
Debs's health deteriorated over the next few years. He was admitted to a mental health facility where he died in 1926.
Atlanta prison to the White House in one day. Not bad.
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